Caspian Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Caspian Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Antioxidant CMK-5 mesoporous carbon covalently functionalized with gallic acid and ascorbic acid

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mahboobeh Zare 1
Heshmatollah Alinezhad 2
1 Faculty of Medicinal Plants, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran.
2 Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.
10.22034/cjvs.2026.567496.1055
Abstract
Mesoporous carbon CMK-5 was synthesized and subsequently functionalized via covalent grafting with two potent natural antioxidants, ascorbic acid (AA) and gallic acid (GA), to develop novel antioxidant-active hybrid materials. The successful covalent attachment was confirmed through comprehensive characterization techniques, including fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The antioxidant performance was systematically compared using two complementary assays: the DPPH radical scavenging assay and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) test. The results indicated that functionalization effectively enhances the antioxidant activity of CMK-5. The DPPH scavenging capacity increased from less than 42.3% for pristine CMK-5 to 61.5% for CMK-5-AA, and 73.7% for CMK-5-GA. Similarly, in the FRAP assay, CMK-5-GA exhibited the highest reducing power. A consistent trend of CMK-5-GA > CMK-5-AA > CMK-5 was observed in both methods, unequivocally proving the superior efficacy of GA, attributed to its higher number of phenolic hydroxyl groups facilitating more efficient hydrogen atom transfer and electron donation. This work presented a suitable strategy for creating advanced antioxidant carbon-based hybrids for potential applications inbiomedicine, food preservation, or catalytic systems.
Keywords
Antioxidant
Ascorbic acid
CMK-5
Gallic acid
Subjects
Ain, R; Meos, A; Vutt, A; Kirsimäe, H; Ilina, Т; Kovaleva, A and Koshovyi, O (2024). The content and stability of ascorbic acid in commercial food supplements. Sci. Pharm. Sci., 5: 28-37.
Akbari, A (2016). An overview of the characteristics and function of vitamin C in various tissues: relying on its antioxidant function. Zahedan J. Res. Med. Sci., 18: e4037.
Alinezhad, H and Zare, M (2013). Sulfonated ordered nanoporous carbon as an efficient solid catalyst for the synthesis of perimidine derivatives. J. Chil. Chem. Soc., 58: 1840-1841.
Bazuła, PA; Lu, AH; Nitz, JJ and Schüth, F (2008). Surface and pore structure modification of ordered mesoporous carbons via a chemical oxidation approach. Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 108: 266-275.
Carocho, M; Barreiro, MF; Morales, P and Ferreira, ICFR (2014). Adding molecules to food, pros and cons: A review on synthetic and natural food additives. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 13: 377-399.
Cirillo, G; Hampel, S; Klingeler, R; Puoci, F; Iemma, F; Curcio, M and Büchner, B (2011). Antioxidant multi-walled carbon nanotubes by free radical grafting of gallic acid: new materials for biomedical applications. J. Pharm. Pharmacol., 63: 179-188.
Deligiannakis, Y; Sotiriou, GA and Pratsinis, SE (2012). Antioxidant and antiradical SiO2 nanoparticles covalently functionalized with gallic acid. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 4: 6609-6617.
Drosos, M; Jerzykiewicz, M; Louloudi, M and Deligiannakis, Y (2011). Progress towards synthetic modelling of humic acid: Peering into the physicochemical polymerization mechanism. Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng. Asp., 389: 254-265.
Eftekhari, A and Fan, Z (2017). Ordered mesoporous carbon and its applications for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Mater. Chem. Front., 1: 1001-1027.
Galano, A (2009). Influence of diameter, length, and chirality of single-walled carbon nanotubes on their free radical scavenging capability. J. Phys. Chem. C, 113: 18487-18491.
Halliwell, B and Gutteridge, JMC (2015). Free radicals in biology and medicine. Oxford university press.
Hussain, S; Akhter, R and Maktedar, SS (2024). Advancements in sustainable food packaging: from eco-friendly materials to innovative technologies. Sustain. Food Technol. 2: 1297-1364.
Lucente-Schultz, RM; Moore, VC; Leonard, AD; Price, BK; Kosynkin, DV; Lu, M and Tour, JM (2009). Antioxidant single-walled carbon nanotubes. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131: 3934-3941.
Marturano, V; Marotta, A; Salazar, SA; Ambrogi, V and Cerruti, P (2023). Recent advances in bio-based functional additives for polymers. Prog. Mater. Sci., 139: 101186.
Mehdipour-Ataei, S and Aram, E (2023). Mesoporous carbon-based materials: A review of synthesis, modification, and applications. Catalysts, 13: 2.
Morais, RP; Novais, GB; Sangenito, LS; Santos, AL; Priefer, R; Morsink, M and Cardoso, JC (2020). Naringenin-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes: a potential approach for site-specific remote-controlled anticancer delivery for the treatment of lung cancer cells. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21: 4557.
Nabavi, S; Hellio, C; Alinezhad, H; Zare, M; Azimi, R and Baharfar, R (2012). Antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of methanol extract of Hyssopus angustifolius. J. Appl. Bot. Food Qual., 85: 1-4.
Nerin, C; Tovar, L and Salafranca, J (2008). Behaviour of a new antioxidant active film versus oxidizable model compounds. J. Food Eng., 84: 313-320.
Nimse, SB and Pal, D (2015). Free radicals, natural antioxidants, and their reaction mechanisms. RSC Adv., 5: 27986-28006.
Novais, GB; Dias, MA; Santana, AA; Batista, TC; Marques, MN; Melo, CR; Júnior, RLA; Gomes, MZ; Severino, P; Souto, EB and Cardoso, JC (2023). Isoflavones-functionalized single-walled and multiwalled carbon nanotubes: synthesis and characterization of new nanoarchitetonics for biomedical uses. J. Mol. Struct., 1294: 136351.
Pedro, AC; Paniz, OG; Fernandes, IDAA; Bortolini, DG; Rubio, FTV; Haminiuk, CWI and Magalhães, WLE (2022). The importance of antioxidant biomaterials in human health and technological innovation: a review. Antioxidants, 11: 1644.
Rahman, MM; Ara, MG; Alim, MA; Uddin, MS; Najda, A; Albadrani, GM and Abdel-Daim, MM (2021). Mesoporous carbon: A versatile material for scientific applications. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22: 4498.
Rajan, VK and Muraleedharan, K (2017). A computational investigation on the structure, global parameters and antioxidant capacity of a polyphenol, Gallic acid. Food Chem., 220: 93-99.
Saini, U; Sharma, A and Mittal, V. (2025). Gallic Acid: A potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent in modern cosmeceuticals. Recent Adv. Drug Deliv. Formul.
Shahidi, F and Zhong, Y (2010). Lipid oxidation and improving the oxidative stability. Chem. Soc. Rev., 39: 4067-4079.
Spizzirri, UG; Iemma, F; Puoci, F; Cirillo, G; Curcio, M; Parisi, OI and Picci, N (2009). Synthesis of antioxidant polymers by grafting of gallic acid and catechin on gelatin. Biomacromolecules, 10: 1923-1930.
Wrona, M; Nerín, C; Alfonso, MJ and Caballero, MÁ (2017). Antioxidant packaging with encapsulated green tea for fresh minced meat. Innov. Food Sci. Emerg. Technol., 41: 307-313.
Wu, Y; Liu, Y; Jia, Y; Feng, CH; Zhang, H; Ren, F and Zhao, G (2024). Effects of thermal processing on natural antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Food Res. Int., 192: 114797.
Caspian Journal of Veterinary Sciences
Volume 3, Issue 1
June 2026
Pages 15-22

  • Receive Date 20 December 2025
  • Revise Date 30 January 2026
  • Accept Date 31 January 2026